Microsoft Surface Tablet vs ME

 

 

 

Firstly, I have owned and used an Android based tablet. What peaked my curiosity about the Surface was that clients were asking to preorder them. So, I went and researched them. I told my husband this was the only thing I have wanted so badly I could ‘taste’ it. He bought it for me for Christmas. I have been using it almost full time since. I haven’t thought of my laptop, nor really gone near my PC.

I have been in the IT Services profession with my own company for over 25 years, so I was going to put this through its paces. This is why this is titled as it is.

 

I am typing this on the Surface Win8 RT now; so far, just using touchscreen keyboard. That in itself is a feat as I normally hate them because I always mistype a letter (fat fingering) and end up backspacing more than getting it typed. This has not been the case with this tablet's touchscreen keyboard, and this is even with a screen protector (I put them on everything). I bought it with additional external keyboard and it is great too. It is very touch sensitive and has the layout of regular keyboard.

 

I will be dividing this into categories: hardware, operating system, apps, ease of use, and software. Then a final ‘wrap up’.

 

 

Hardware

 

Image via Engadget

 

The Surface is available as standalone and you can purchase a keyboard for it. With this tablet, Microsoft has pretty much destroyed the magnets and computers ‘no no’. The external keyboard attaches with magnets to the tablet as does the charger. This makes the charger proprietary. If you lose the original, you can only get replacement through Microsoft Store (which is where my tablet was purchased). It comes in 32gig storage or 64gig storage. I am using the 32gig. It accepts, very nicely, a flash drive or external hard drive for additional storage. This is besides the Sky Drive cloud storage (I don’t use). Using USB for cameras are no problem. It has front and back cameras that also do video, and also has a micro sd card slot. The battery life far exceeds the 10 hours it promises. There is now also an extended battery. You get less battery time using the Windows 8 Pro edition. It syncs well to a Win7 PC and also Windows Smartphone. When deciding on 32gig or 64gig, keep in mind ‘out of box’ almost one third of space filled on 32gig. With all I have done, I haven’t reached half. So for hardware, I give it an A+.

 

 

Operating System Windows 8

 

 

Now comes some of the confusion. There are 3 versions of Windows 8. For the tablet, the RT version comes with Office already installed. The Windows 8 PRO version does NOT have Office installed but makes your tablet even more of a miniature PC. You can install Office and other programs on it as well. With RT you can only install apps. Both have a regular looking desktop you can go to and use the tools that are in most later Windows versions. Then there is Windows 8, which does not come with Office, has a desktop and can be installed on PC. All start with a start ‘box’ type screen. All have Internet Explorer. For ease of use with the operating system I give it an A+. For confusion/vagueness of known version differences, a C.

 

 

Apps

I was a little concerned about availability of apps as compared to Android. It was unfounded. There are many many apps and more every day. Many great free ones. With Internet Explorer it integrates with Facebook perfectly and most of the Facebook games that are Flash version 10 or less. They are working on a higher Flash version for tablet. But, Farmville plays perfectly. The only game on Facebook I couldn’t play was Gardens of Time. It also integrates with Xbox so there are games you can play on it. Great news to me was I am able to use Nook, Kindle, and Reader Store on it - have all at the same time.  The apps are in categories; news, games, knowledge, social, finance, entertainment, and others. There is top free ones in each category. Each shows at least 98 free ones in the ‘top’ free and more within the category. Netflix works well. Beyond that you can use apps for particular stores, pharmacies, banks, etc. So, with more and more and what is available now, I give Apps an A+.

 

 

Ease of use

 

 

I have found it very easy to use. It's really instinctive and common sense. In some ways, too much so. One example is the camera. I couldn’t figure out how to take a picture. Googled it and found all you have to so is tap the screen while in the camera app to take the picture. If you wish to email the picture you can do so right from the camera. Using this for 3 months, I was able to easily get around and figure out. The beginning introduction video on it was short and some help. Last night I purchased through Kindle the ‘Surface for Dummies’ book. I have only scratched the surface of what this can do. I always recommend the ‘Dummies’ books as they have great tips and really get to the meat of programs or devices. So for starting ease of use an A.

 

 

Software

 

The prepackaged software is great. Internet Explorer and, on the RT version, Office 2013. The upgrade to next Office is free and done as an update. Under Apps, it shows when any app has an update and you can install it. Only twice did I have system updates and it automatically downloads and tells you will restart in 2 days unless you wish to immediately. So I have not found any glitches in any software or available apps so far. Even the Windows Mail is very easy to set up and use. You can set up multiple email accounts. Have to give Software an A+.

 

 

Wrap-up
 

I am very pleased with this Surface Windows 8 RT tablet. It meets all of my needs and more. It will take much more than 3 months to learn and use all its capabilities. I don’t see me ever going back to Android. These Surface tablets will give Android a ‘run for their money’. At first, you could only purchase through the Microsoft Store, which I still recommend, and then Amazon for higher cost. Finally, Microsoft worked out a distributor program and I understand Staples and other stores now sell it. You can purchase other brands of tablets with Win8 and Win8 pro. I would recommend staying with Microsoft’s Surface, however.
 



If you plan to use it more for business go for the 64gig Windows 8 pro, if you wish to purchase Office separately and wish to install other programs, or the 64gig Windows 8 RT if the main concern is only Office, Adobe, email and storage. The RT version is good for business and pleasure.

It is light weight, and can be used while sitting in chair, sofa, or even bed. If you are comfortable with touchscreen keyboards, then the additional external keyboard is not necessary at all. All of this was typed using touchscreen, which again, is usually difficult for me. You can purchase on eBay a case for it with a place for the keyboard and it will just open and close with it. I did for $5 but found the keyboard connection must be placed just right or screen will time out. You can use a stylus for smartphones and tablets on it too. They cost me $3 for 5 pack on eBay. I suggest you purchase the ‘Surface for Dummies’ book. On Kindle, it was only $9.99 or if you prefer a book in hand, $19.99 at bookstores. It is well worth the money to get all you can out of the Surface.

 

The final evaluation: Well done Microsoft! I am a tough person to please and this Surface has done well!

 

Written By:

-Dawn Scardella

Edited By:
-Preston Macek

How Summer Effects Technology: Heat Damage

Summer is a very hot month of the year for a lot of people (especially if you live in Florida, like myself). Unfortunately, technology and heat don't get along. Much like a vehicle, excessive heat can damage parts and cause technology to fail.



One of the main causes of heat damage to technology in the summer is forgetfulness (Even I'm guilty of this one).You'll be going somewhere, and when you park your car under the gleaming sun to go to class or work for a few hours you forget your iPod, Laptop, or even your Smartphone in your car. What kind of effects can this have?

Firstly, battery damage. If your battery is still alright when you get back, you may notice that your battery life has gotten significantly worse. For a smartphone or android device in which you can replace the battery, this may not be such a big deal. For an iPod or iPhone, however, the battery is built in. You're stuck with what you've got. Laptop batteries can be costly, as well.

Another big issue: it can cause is heat cracking. This issue is specific to touch screen devices. Essentially, there will be clearly noticeable cracks along screen, which don't make it quite all the way down to the actual screen, but cosmetically look terrible on the device.

Lastly, and the most troublesome problem, damage to the internal components. If your device was on while you weren't around and the heat gets to it, there's a high possibility it could have damaged some of the internal components. Apple and Android have recently come out with heat sensors in their newer devices that shut down the functioning parts of the device which the heat could severely hurt when this happens (This does NOT protect the battery, just the internal components hopefully), but otherwise, functioning processors and other modules could fry under the extreme heat. If the device is off, make sure you leave it off until it has cooled either by bringing it to a cool enviornment, or running the A/C and waiting a good 30 minutes or so while it cools off.

Overheating devices that are running in a house can cause chip creep which may cause your computer's RAM or Processor to come unseated. If you're not sure of what those terms mean, RAM is memory the computer needs to function. Without RAM, your computer won't boot up; same with the Processor. the processor is what processes all the information on your computer, and tells it where to go. In layman's terms, it does the loading. When these things come unseated, there is not a connection to the motherboard, which acts like a set of highways for data to travel along from one place to another. Without a way to communicate between these two extremely important components, the computer cannot function. Always make sure the room the computer is operating in is not too hot, especially if you're going to be doing any system heavy work, PC gaming, or if you plan to leave your computer running for a long period of time. A good amount of cooling in the computer itsself is always a good way to ensure it does well with battling high tempuratures as well.

So, make sure you don't forget your devices in your vehicle, and have fun this summer season!

-Written by Preston M.

Internet Scammers: How To Identify Them & What To Do

This article was written with the intent to assist in catching some different forms of internet scams. There are many different types, and while some may seem to be insignificant, annoying, and blatantly obvious, not everyone catches them. There are also a good number of more elaborate scammers out there, and many victims fall prey to internet scams each year. The following information will hopefully help boost your knowledge of the scams you will most likely run in to on the internet, and what to do when they appear.

1 - E-mail Scams

I'm sure you're thinking "Hey, don't I have a junk filter for that?"

To that, the answer is yes! Almost every e-mail service and program uses a junk mail filter to catch spam and junk mail before it gets to you. That's why often times you'll log on to check your e-mail and see that there are a large number of e-mails in your junk folder. Those e-mails are usually either spam, containing a link to a harmful website or content (virus related most often), or an internet scam trying to get information or harm you financially. The companies that support these e-mail services and clients are constantly on the lookout, updating the junk mail filter lists, and doing their best to make sure that the scammers cannot get to you. Unfortunately though, on rare occasions one may slip through. You may notice you have mail from someone you don't know, and whom isn't in your contacts. Usually, the sender is a website, which sometimes makes it blatantly obvious, depending on the site. Other times, it will have a first and last name, making it look as if a legitimate person might be trying to contact you. When this happens, the subject line will either have a subject that is pretty much a dead giveaway, or it will have no subject at all. If it's something important and not a scam, it might be necessary for you to see what is in the message.

If you are using a web browser to read your e-mail, then it is safe to open the message. When doing so, make sure you do not open any attachments on the e-mail if there are any.

The e-mail is a scam if:

1) There is simply a link, and some text, but nothing that makes any sense/you can relate to.

2) There is an attachment, and the e-mail urges you to open it.

3) There is text prompting you to send a reply with extremely personal information.

A lot of fake e-mails will employ scare tactics to frighten you in to clicking their links, or giving up information, saying that you have credit card debt, or that something has happened to an account of yours, and they need you to sign in so they can verify it is you and have you change your password.

The best way to deal with e-mail scammers is to direct the e-mail to your junk mail, or even simply delete it.

In addition, if you would like to report the scam, you may do so by filing a report at the following address:

http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

You can also forward the e-mail to the following e-mail address for further investigation:

spam@uce.gov

Both links are to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint team.

2 - Craigslist Scams

While Craigslist is a very useful site for buying, selling, job searching, and other things locally and directly, it does have it's occasional dangers. The most common form of Craigslist scam you will run in to is fake employers using the job position to get your personal information and possibly steal your identity. Always make sure when you apply via e-mail or anything of the sort that you do not give out your social security number. Any legitimate company on Craigslist will ask for that on an application/form you fill out in person.

Another form of scam is a person offering to pay you for a private temporary job in advance. Be wary of these positions, as they are very shady. Do not give out more information than is necessary, and be cautious. Ask lots of questions, and make sure the job is legitimate before jumping in to it.



3 - Facebook & Social Networking

 

Facebook, one of the pioneering sites of social networking which rose to popularity shortly after MySpace, is a site on which you can interact with your friends, family, co-workers, and do a number of other things like gaming, quizzes, and even online dating. Even on sites like this, however, there are a number of troubles to be wary of; among them being scamming.

The most foolproof way to avoid scams on Facebook is to avoid anyone you don't personally know. Some people like to socialize though, and who can blame them? It is a social networking site after all. If you meet someone new, and aren't sure about them, here are some key things to look for:

1) Friends in common - On Facebook, when your friends have someone added, and that person is trying to add you, or you see their profile and are thinking of adding them, it will show how many friends the two of you have in common. Often times, this helps out with recognizing someone. Even if you don't know them, knowing that friends know them can be comforting. It also helps if you wish to ask a friend about them.

2) Their profile details - If at any point their details seem incomplete, sketchy, or contain a link, you may not want to add them.

3) Their timeline and posts - If their timeline has constant posts on it with links (that have no description), or seems kind of robotic in nature/not something someone would usually say, there's a likely chance that they are a scammer.

One other good method for checking on this is to send them a message. Something along the lines of "Hey, I'm having trouble remembering... do I know you from somewhere?"
If they give a decent answer, and seem like someone you'd want to add based on the other three observations, it's a safe bet that they're alright to add/get to know.

One form of scammer you may run in to on Facebook is someone trying to find a way to make money for their self by getting you to do them a "favor". They might send a message asking you to open a bank account for them so they can have some money transferred, or something to that effect, claiming that they are from overseas and coming to America soon. "Some people owe me money, and I need an account in one of these banks, otherwise they will not send the money, please. Could you open account and give me the account number?"

Another common form of scammer you will find (on more than just Facebook. This kind will show up on just about any social networking site there is) is a kind that will try to convince you to add them on an instant messenger to talk to them, or even see them on their webcam. This kind is more robotic, and sounds less like a normal person; almost as if what they're saying is generated. They will ask you to add them on Yahoo messenger, immediately giving out their screen name for it. (If someone asks you if you have Yahoo first, they're not likely this form of scammer). Usually posing as a woman, these scammers typically target men and teen boys, posting a fake picture of their "self"as their icon, and trying to feed on human indecency. The best thing to do when you see one of these scammers is just report/block them. You will know it is one of them if they keep insisting you add them on the instant messenger, pushing their screen name at you. They will later direct you to a site that tries to steal your credit card information, claiming it will not charge it and it is necessary to verify your age.

To block, report, or unfriend someone in the current Facebook layout (as of May 2012), you need to go to the drop-down menu shown in the picture below:

 

If you are not a friend with the person in question, it will appear slightly differently. It will be located just underneath the person's banner on the right hand side on their profile/timeline. This may change in the future, as Facebook has a tendency to change it's look quite often, but is the current method for now.

4) - Fake Websites

The above image was taken from a scam site. While it may appear to be the well known internet marketplace known as Ebay, it is actually a counterfeit site made to look exactly like Ebay. Why would someone make a site like this, you might ask? Simple: To steal and/or use your account information, as well as gather as much personal information as possible.With your Ebay account information, the person can make purchases, gather any banking information you have entered, addresses, phone numbers, and if they're really crafty, your PayPal account info.

The easiest way to tell if you're on a fake site is to look at the site's URL, which is address in the bar at the top of your web browser where you type in where you want to go. If the URL is anything other than what it should be, and you followed a link, or possibly even mistyped it, exit the site immediately, and do not for any reason go back to it. Also, scan your computer for viruses, as sometimes these sites will come with malware.

In this image below, you can better see that the URL is not Ebay.com but is linked to an IP address instead. That address is in no way associated with Ebay.com, and this site is a fake.

Some sites will also use similar site names like ebay.login.com

The way websites work, is the site name before the ".com" is the domain that the website is on. In this fake name's case, login.com is the actual website.
Were the site login.ebay.com, it'd be another story.



IMPORTANT:

If you have fallen for a scam and are aware of it or suspect that you have, DO NOT HESITATE to contact the authorities, and do not be embarrassed. They will be happy to help you, and are really quite nice. Either call your local authorities, and they will gladly work with you to catch the culprit and set things straight to the best of their abilities, or you can visit http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx and file a complaint, which the FBI will review, work on, and contact you to work with you as well to catch the culprit. Don't feel the slightest bit embarrassed; it happens to the best of us.

Android Tablet Review - Acer Iconia Tab a500 & Motorola Xoom

As Android tablets have grown in popularity, I've had my chance to toy around with some of them, and now even own one! Having been an IOS user beforehand, getting the chance to use one was something I had looked forward to for a long time. From what I understood, Android Operating Systems were pretty much like the Linux of touch screen devices; they encouraged open source, and were much easier to modify/work with. Since using an Android tablet, that has proven to be very much the case from what I've seen.

I originally began typing this article from an Acer Iconia Tab a500.The first thing about this tablet that struck me as great about it was the fact that the keyboard typed so smoothly (which I've found differs among different devices. Some work beautifully with the keyboard, and some do not; which is mostly determined by the hardware in the tablet). The Iconia Tab comes with 16GB of internal storage, which is pretty good considering apps, and the files you'd most likely store on it; but for that point when you run out of space on it (which will likely happen eventually), it has a slot where you can add a Micro SD card, which can get you up to an additional 32GB. As far as space goes for this, it's great. If for some reason that is not enough however, there is a USB port on the right and side of the tablet that allows you to connect flash drives, and some external HDD's. Memory is clearly not an issue with this tablet.

Another nifty feature it has that most others don't is an HDMI out port, which allows you to connect your display to the television. You can simply plug it in, switch your TV to the proper input, and watch movies from Netflix straight to the television, or even play a touch screen game using the tablet as the controller, and the TV as the screen! On the very bottom of the tablet is a plug where you can connect it to a separate dock that is sold by Acer. Outside of these main features, there is a USB micro port you can use to connect it to your computer, a standard headphone jack, and a switch that allows you to toggle screen rotation. It also comes with two built-in cameras, one front facing webcam style, and one on the back for shooting videos.

As forememtioned, the tablet is snappy and rarely will you notice any lag, thanks to it's 1GHz Dual Core Processor and NVidia Graphics. One of the few things I've found the tablet somewhat present a very slight lag with was with Live Wallpapers. Outside of that, this tablet handles pretty much everything quite well. It's great all around for both media, and creativity/schoolwork, as well as gaming and social networking.

The main downside so far to the Iconia a500 is that it (so far) is not upgradable to Android 4.0 (aka "Ice Cream Sandwich") which was released in January of 2012, but it definitely holds it's own without it.

Now, moving along to the Motorola Xoom.

The Motorola Xoom is basically the gaming rig of tablets. The UI is extremely responsive; even with a Live Wallpaper going. The Xoom WiFi edition comes with up to 32GB of internal memory (and room for expansion with a microSD card). Unlike the Iconia Tab, the Xoom does not feature a USB port, but it does have an HDMI Output as well.

The Motorola Xoom comes with Android 3.1, but is upgradable to 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The nice thing about the Xoom, aside from it's massive amounting of storage, is the hardware inside it that allows you to game on it flawlessly. It runs so smoothly with virtually any app, and almost no delay when opening/running/switching between them.



The Iconia Tab a500 is due to recieve the Android 4.0 Update in April of 2012, so for those who are worried about getting one due to not having the new OS running on it; fear not!

For those of you wondering what is the difference between Android 3.2 and 4.0, or what the Android OS even is, I will be making another article at a later date of the two android Operating Systems and their features, so stay tuned! (More on the Xoom in that article as well, as a good number of the features I want to discuss deal directly with Ice Cream Sandwich.)

-Preston

The Internet May Be In Trouble. Big Trouble.

The internet as we know it is in trouble. The “PROTECT IP Act” or S. 968 in the Senate and the “Stop Online Piracy Act” or H.R. 3261 in the House are two very real threats to what we've come to know as the biggest open source place for information; the internet.

The PROTECT IP Act , and the Stop Online Piracy Act, give the government the right to blacklist domains that they think infringe upon copyright laws. While this may not sound like a bad thing, it opens up a number of problems. It gives the government the ability to bully sites like Google, Yahoo, and a number of others [even social media] into censoring their information and taking down links at command, under penalty of lawsuit. It takes sites with good intention, such as file hosting services, and shuts them down due to copyrighted content uploaded by an individual [lets face it, with the millions of users on most of those sites, they can't monitor, no matter how hard they try].

It can also stop small web-based startups from making business, and put regular people in prison for up to five years/get them heavy fines simply for having a copyrighted song in the background of a video they post to Youtube.

To learn more about these bills, here's a short video explaining a bit more about them, and what they mean to us:

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

If you would like to contact a representative, and let them know you are against these bills, here's a helpful link that will connect you to the right person: http://www.tumblr.com/protect-the-net 

Your voice will be heard.

Don't be afraid to call; they're really nice. =)

Patents "Grab"

Nowadays, in the ever expanding world of technology, manufacturers of tablets, smartphones, and touchscreen devices have been running into more and more lawsuits over patents. To counter this issue and cover their ground when it comes to their products, most companies have a very thorough legal department that investigates a new device before it is built, making sure there are no patents out there that could cover it and that it is not infringing on any copyrights, etc. Another thing many companies have started to do, however, is buying patents from other companies, businesses, individuals, etc.

The more patents the company owns, the more rights to technological designs, innovations, and ideas they have, which gives them an upper hand as it both protects them from legal issues of that nature and it gives them the rights to something no-one else has [excluding the creator of the patent who may retain rights to having come up with the idea].

What does this all mean?

If you have a good idea for something that could be applied to a smartphone or tablet, you may want to check and see if it is out there yet. Chances are, your idea could be worth something to the right people. Who knows; maybe your idea could turn into the next big thing!

in·no·va·tion

   [in-uh-vey-shuhn]  Show IPA

noun

1.

something new or different introduced: numerous innovationsin the high-school curriculum.

2.

the act of innovating; introduction of new things ormethods.

Linux: Ubuntu In The Workplace

Chances are if you work in a business enviornment, your computer is running a Microsoft Operating System, such as XP, Vista, or Windows 7. Ubuntu is looking to enter the business market with a new business class version of the Ubuntu Operating System. Ubuntu Desktop claims a number of features that Windows 7 lacks for the business enviornment [when installed], such as a personal productivity suite, Anti-Virus, a PDF reader, Instant Messaging, and other features that are improvements from the basic Windows 7 features [Firewall,  Archiving/Compression software, Backup software, and Multiple browser options].

One of the many benefits to running this business class operating system - It can run alongside Windows! If your company did decide to switch to it, you can dual boot, or set up another partition [without damaging windows] to install it on, using the utilities in the Ubuntu Desktop installation.

Another main benefit to be found, is the ability to exchange files with Windows users. The exchanged files work the same on either operating system, and will not have trouble transferring. Even if you pull a Microsoft Office file over to Ubuntu Desktop, it will work flawlessly.

Ubuntu is very big on compatability, so no matter what hardware is in your system, Ubuntu Desktop will work right away. No searching for drivers, or hoping things work when you plug them in. It works from the get-go.

Lastly, the latest noticeable thing about the release of Ubuntu Desktop is the price. Usually, Linux products are open source, and free [as a regular version of Ubuntu is]; however, seeing as you are getting a business class operating system with Ubuntu Desktop, it is like that of an Enterprise Edition Linux OS. Therefore it's going to cost you. For the standard version, it would cost $105 per year per machine. For the Advanced version, which includes some extra features, it would cost you $165 per year. To read up on some more of the features of Ubuntu Desktop, click here.

To get your hands on Ubuntu, click here.